The past month featured two separate instances of the Russian military making its way into public relations spots. Both instances were inadvertent (or maybe one inadvertent, and one advertant?), and a source of amusement:

First, a tourism advertisement in Brussels featured a shot of red square with the caption “Discover Russia!”. The photograph, upon closer inspection, contained images of military trucks carrying ballistic missiles in a parade-style formation. Russia strong country!

Then, at the US Democratic National Convention in Charlotte last week, during a tribute to America’s naval veterans, a rabble-rousing shot of multiple warships was on display behind featured speaker, Admiral John Nathman. The only problem? The ships weren’t US Navy vessels, but Russian, likely images of the Black Sea fleet.